The Beginning
by archiac
Summary: Lily and David, or 'Ace', as some people call him, are best friends. He was raised by a single mother, she was raised by religious fanatics. One would think they clash a lot, but truthfully, there's no other couple who understand each other better, but that doesn't mean a thing to anybody else. Not every fairytale has a happy ending. OFC
1. Chapter 1

Bells rang clear out into the crisp morning air. If you wanted to locate the source of the bells, you wouldn't have to look far. A small white church sat atop a hill, overlooking the small town of Castle Rock, Oregon. A man stood in the tower, tolling out the sounds to announce the nearing of the beginning of the service.

More than half the small town's population, dressed in their Sunday best, walked up the lazily inclining hill to the only house of worship for miles. Their small town was in the middle of nowhere, the only thing connecting them to the other small towns miles away was the single long stretch of a two lane road, and train tracks. Among the church goers was a teenage girl. She was dark haired, in a simple white conservative summer dress that reached down to her calves with a lavender floral print on it and matching white sandals. Her long midnight hair was half pinned up and naturally curled into long barrels, done by her mother. She was Lillith Katherine St. George, named respectfully after both her grandmothers. She trudged along between her mother and father, accompanying them to the service, like she did every Sunday. And every Wednesday night. And any time other time her parents thought she needed a little extra helping of the Lord, hold the mayo, thank you very much.

At the bottom of the hill, watching the girl, was a teenage boy. One of the town's notorious hoods. He was leaning against his parked dusty black convertible, in front of the local dime store. With his striking blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes, and a dangerous smirk, he screamed 'bad boy'. He dressed in black jeans, belted high on his hips with his black muscle t-shirt tucked in. He wore a white overshirt with it, unbottoned and pattern faded. His name was David Merrill, nicknamed 'Ace' because, well, no one really knew why exactly.

He continued watching the girl; eyes roamed her shapely form, lingering on the more curvasceous parts of her anatomy and her legs, which the slight breeze in the air fluttered her dress to show slightly more of. How could such a sinful looking girl enter the house of the Lord? He had no idea, but he loved the front she put on to please her parents. When they looked down on her, all they saw was an angel with a glittering halo and wide, niave eyes that were innocent to the ways of the world and the people in it, virginal in all she was worth.

_Oh_, but he knew her much better than that. As soon as her dictators turned their backs, she was an uncontainable spitfire, poised to spark. She was uncontrollable, unpredictable, seemingly unattainable. She captivated him.

They had been best friends since they were children, much to the dismay of her parents. Who would want a bastard boy child raised by a single mother to be the chosen companion for their precious baby girl?

The parents had stopped by the church doors now, daughter still in tow, to talk with other members of the church. Someone had apparently pointed out his position below them, because her father's head snapped to him, eyes undoubtably narrowed in a glare. His smirk disappeared when her mother's eyes did the same. But _she_ did not look to him. She did not offer her glance of reassurance now. And he questioned why.

The bells neared the end of their rings and the people who loitered outside started hastily making their way inside, including her. He still kept his eyes on her, wondering why she did not look to him when she knew he was there. Her parents made their way inside and she followed; or so they thought. As they disappeared through the doors, she suddenly stopped at the bottom of the steps, the last person to stand outside the little white building. She turned with a grin and stared right at him. She winked. She then proceeded to walk inside, swinging her hips, glancing back at him to make sure she still had his attention.

God, he loved that girl.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Quick update. For those of you who also read Alone in the Dark, it should also be updated soon, so keep watch!**

**Also, just to be clear, this story isn't going to be very long, probably less than 10 chapters considering I just wanted this to be a basic prelude to another story.**

**Well, anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed!**

**Please review.**

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David waited by his car, fidgeting. He wanted to service to be over with. He wanted to see her.

At last, the doors opened and a swarm of people exited the building. His eyes picked through the crowd, trying to spot her familiar white dress. Finally, he'd caught sight of her. She had managed to loose her parents in the crowd and was headed down the hill, all holy thoughts fleeing her mind. She hadn't been able to focus one single thought on the sermon, instead being completely focused on him. He took over her mind, dominating it. She saw him waiting for her down by his car and immediately went to him.

As she approached, he stood nervously and swiped his sweating palms on his black jeans.

"Hey," he said smiling, ducking his head at her.

"Hey, yourself," she replied, a bright smile overtaking her face. She came to a stop a two feet in front of him and gently intertwined her fingers together in front of herself.

"Wanna hang out today?" he asked, hopeful.

"I'd love to," she said. Her face fell slightly. "But I have to tell my parents."

"Right, right, of course," he nodded, licking his lips. "I'll wait right here. Unless you want me to come with you?"

"No, that's okay. Stay right there!" she said loudly after she'd turned and started walking away. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, nervous and excited.

Her parents were talking to another couple, barely even noticing that she'd been gone. She approached them from behind, startling her father when she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Good Lord, sweetheart, you nearly scared me to death," he smiled jokingly at her. She smiled brightly back, letting an innocent mask easily slide over her.

"I'm so sorry, daddy, I didn't mean to!" she widened her eyes, and they sparkled like a child's. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"What is it, princess?" he asked condescendingly, like he was talking to an animal rather than a young woman.

"I'm going to spend the day with David," she told him matter of factually, and his eyes hardened.

"That wasn't a question," he said gruffly, upset.

"I know. My question was: Can I have some money?" she asked, sweeter than honey. She clasped her hands together again and held them to her chest, the perfect sight of childish innocence.

He frowned, but gave in. "Fine. Here's ten dollars. Don't spend it all," he warned as he pulled two fives from his wallet, and she snatched it playfully from his hand.

"Bye, daddy," she said, standing on her tip toes to peck his cheek. "I'll be home later tonight." She trotted back down the hill, white dress flaring out behind her and fluttering in the breeze. As she neared David and his black convertible, he opened the driver's side door for her. She crawled in, scooting to the passenger side of the bench seat, and waited for David as he climbed in also and started the car.

"Where to?" he asked as they pulled away from the curb.

"Let's go to Mickey's bar. I can beat your ass in billiards again," she snickered, reaching up to unpin her hair. Her long dark tresses whipped around her face.

"Right," he sneered, "I let you win last time."

"As if!" she gasped, "I won fair and square!" she said as she tucked her legs under her and scooted closer to David, nearly distracting him from the road. "You're just pissed 'cause you got beat by a girl."

"Whatever," he sighed out, cautiously placing his arm on the back of the seat around her. If she'd noticed, she didn't say anything.

But she did noticed. Lily bit her lip to hold in a grin, and her heart was pounding in her chest.

When she was fourteen, her innocent friendly feelings towards David had taken a sharp right turn to become a crush. Since then, it had only grown. He had always seemed to reciprocate her feelings, but the pair was always afraid to act on them. She leaned into him, a movement so small it was almost undetectable. But he noticed. And he allowed himself a small victorious smile as she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Do you still have my clothes?" she asked after a short pause, tired of the billowing dress she still wore.

"Yeah, they're under the seat in the back," he told her, reached to hit the button that would bring the convertible's top back up. She climbed over the seat, and brought out her clothes. Jeans, a t-shirt, and boots were much more comfortable than a dress and sandals.

"Don't peek!" she joked, undressing and clothing herself in her more comfortable attire. She didn't say anything, but blushed instead, when she caught his eyes flicker curiously to the rearview mirror and then back to the road. As she climbed back in the front seat, they pulled up to the bar. He quickly got out the car and went around to her side, opened the car door for Lily and helped her out. She gave him a small smile in return, and his heart stuttered.

They walked into the bar together, and both David and Lily went to one of the empty billiards tables automatically. He set them up and broke them, and not a single ball went into a pocket.

"Looks like I've already got this game wrapped up," Lily giggled, leaning on her pool stick.

"Haha, very funny," he grumbled. "Just take your shot. I'll be back in a minute. Want a beer?"

"Yeah, sure," she said as she concentrated, leaning over the table as she set up her shot. David hesitated, the sight of her bent over a table clearing his mind momentarily. Lily sensed him staring at her, and it broke her focus. "You going to get those beers?" she asked, impish smile curling at her lips.

Her voice seemed to break him out of his reverie. "Uh..yeah. Be right back," he walked away to the bar and ordered their drinks. When he came back, she was beaming.

"I'm solids," she informed him, grinning as she took her beer from his hand and sipped at it. He narrowed his eyes at her, not daring to say a word. He knew if he started talking shit now, it would only motivate her to want to win more.

They spent the rest of the day playing pool. Lily ended up winning six times out of the nine games they played, but David couldn't find in within himself to be a sore loser. She was smiling chaotically, proud. David's friend, Eyeball, had come in and joined their little party, buying the next round of drinks. It wasn't long after his fifth beer that David realized that he still had to drive Lily home.

Eyeball and Lily were laughing over some story Eyeball had told, probably not a lick of truth in it. Her dark eyes danced in mirth. Her cheeks were a rosy color, and she was a mess of giggles. She'd had a lot more to drink than he'd had.

"Lily, how about we go get some coffee, alright? You need to sober up before I take you home," he said, lightly grasping her arm to get her attention.

She cocked her head at him and smiled, confused. Slowly his words sank in and she nodded her head in compliance, following him out the door. He helped her into the car, and drove to a small diner. As they sat in the car, Lily grew restless. She picked at a fray in her jeans, flipped through the radio stations (twice), played with David's pretty blonde hair (much to his dismay), but she was still extremely bored.

She sighed happily when they finally parked in the lot of the diner. Lily needed help getting out of the car and she stumbled as they walked in and sat down in a booth across from one another. A waitress soon came to tend to them.

"What can I get for you?" she asked, hand on her hip.

"Just coffee, please," he told the waitress, continuing to look at the girl sitting across from him. It seemed the car trip had made her a little woozy.

"I'm hungry," she said, laying her head down so her cheek was pressed against the cool table.

"An order of fries, too, I guess," he said, and with that, she left. Lily's head still rested on the table. "You feeling okay, Lils?"

"Yep. Just peachy," she mumbled, tired. He chuckled at her and began playing with a lock of her long hair than fanned out over the table..

The waitress came back with their coffee and fries, but Lily focused solely on the fries. She doused them with salt and ketchup and mustard and dug in. When they finished their fries, Lily turned her attention to the cooling coffee. She took a sip of the black drink, blanching at the bitter taste.

"This needs sugar, and cream, and less coffee," she mumbled under her breath as she rummaged through the condiments against the wall. She stared as sugar and cream splashed into her drink, making it sickly sweet. She gulped it down without hesitation, and David wrinkled his nose at her. He hated sweets.

"Do you wanna go home?" David asked her.

"No. Anywhere but there," she grumbled. Lily hated being home with her parents. She hated them.

"Do you want to stay at my place tonight?" he asked.

"If it's okay with your mom," she said, looking at him with a gleam in her eyes. It made his chest ache on the inside. He'd let her stay with him every night, if that's what made her happy.

"You know she loves you. Of course it's okay," he told her. They stayed a while longer until he paid, and they walked back to the car on much steadier feet.

Lily curled up in the passenger seat, tired while David drove them to his mother's house, across the tracks. He pulled into the driveway of a dingy looking little house. It needed many repairs on the outside, even more on the inside, but it was home. Lily had grown to love this place.

They walked inside to find David's mother sitting on their tattered couch in a robe and slippers.

David's mother's beauty was something Lily had always been jealous of, and Lily was not often jealous.

The woman's hair was a beautiful light shade of blonde, like corn-silk. It was perfectly straight, and thick, like a horse's mane, but soft. She had a sweet, heart shaped face with warm, crystal clear eyes the color of a tropical sea. She was very in shape; wide, child bearing hips sticking out slighty past her slim shoulders, her waist a healthy measure. Her arms were strong, the result of years of hard physical labor to provide for her son. Her skin was flawless, not a blemish nor wrinkle in sight.

Her blonde hair, the same shade as David's, was now pinned up. Her usual light make up had been removed, and she looked down right exhausted from working. But when the pair walked through the door, her eyes brightened.

"Lily!" she smiled, standing. "How are you, sweetie?"

"I'm well, Miss Merrill," Lily gave her a true, genuine smile back. "How are you?"

"I'm just fine," she said. "I was just waiting up for David. Are you staying here tonight?"

"Um, yeah, if that's okay?" Lily asked.

"You know you're always welcome here, dear," she smiled again, and made her way into her bedroom after giving David a kiss on his cheek. If Lily had to choose a favorite trait of David's, it had to be that he was a mama's boy. He adored his mother. He had grown up without a dad, and so she had been a big influence on him.

They were left alone. Lily went to the couch to sit after kicking off her boots. David followed.

They sat together. Lily leaned on him, trying to warm herself with his body heat. _Gone with the Wind_ was playing on a random channel, and they watched the black and white classic.

As Scarlett pleaded with Rhett to stay with her, Lily looked to David. His brows were furrowed in concentration, and he frowned.

"_Rhett, if you go, where shall I go_?_ What shall I do_?"

"_Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn..."_

As Scarlett wept, David spoke up. "Well, that's just stupid."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, confused.

"She finally confessed her love to him and he walked away. If he really loved her, he would've stayed," David explained in a heated manner, and Lily's brows rose in surprise. "It doesn't matter if she refused him the entire time. Love is love."

"Jeeze, calm down. Don't get your knickers in a twist," Lily joked. David looked on darkly, grumbling. "...is there somebody you like?" she asked, trying to be sly. His face flushed almost immediately.

"You do, don't you!" she gasped, trying to stay quiet so as not to wake his sleeping mother.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"Ohmigosh! You have to tell me. I'm your best friend. Why didn't you tell me before?" she stage whispered. Truthfully, knowing that he had feelings for somebody else hurt her.

"Well, you know her...," he hinted, nervous.

"I know her? Hmm...," she looked at him suspiciously. "It better not be that Pam Johnson, David! She's gross. And a floozy," she added for good measure, nose turned up in disgust.

He laughed at her. "No, no, it's not her."

"Well then, who is it?" she sighed, exasperated.

"I'm not telling," he smirked at her.

"Why not? I won't tell! Pretty please, with a cherry on top?" she pleaded.

"Nope," he said, smirk still in place. She slapped his chest lightly.

"No fair," she pouted. "Is it...Anne Marie Smith?"

"Not even close," he said.

"Jamie Anderson?" she guessed again. He simply shook his head.

Lily continued to guess, certain she had run entirely through all the girls at their school. She needed to know, or it was going to drive her insane. What could this girl have that had caught his attention when she didn't?

Lily eventually tackled David, pushing him to the ground and ignoring the loud thud of their landing that could've woken his mother. What a site she would've seen; Lily had pinned him to the floor, straddling his torso and holding his hands above his head. "_Just tell me!_" she almost screeched. She hated being left out of secrets.

David smirked at her need for control and knowledge. He loved that it bugged her so much. "No," he spoke monotonously. He didn't want to tell her. He didn't want to ruin their relationship his with desires.

Lily saw something like desperation flicker in his eyes as he stared at her.

Something just...clicked.

"Is it me?" she asked quietly.

His throat felt like it was closing. He couldn't say anything. She knew. She could always read him; there were times when he was hard to read and times when he wasn't, but she always eventually figured it out. He let out a choking noise, and she took it as a yes.

Lily couldn't help but grinned and connect her lips with his, taking him by surprise. It took him at least a minute before he could figure out what was happening. But when he did, he responded to her kiss, trying to keep up.

Relief washed over her. She loved him.

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**Thanks again for reading, and please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn't five minutes after their first kiss at you could find them sitting awkwardly on each end of the couch, unsure of what just happened.

"I'm sorry for jumping on you," Lily said hesitatingly, confused on where or not she should be apologizing.

"It's alright?" David accepted, also confused.

A few more odd minutes passed them by before either one of the spoke again.

"So...what does this mean?" David asked, unsure.

"I don't know," Lily replied timidly. It sounded odd on her; David had always known Lily to be sure of herself in every aspect. "What to you want it to mean?"

"I-," David began, but his words got caught in his throat. He ended up shrugging his shoulders. If only his buddies could see him now; shrugging at the offer of a girlfriend, offered by the girl he'd loved since he was a boy still wet behind the ears.

Suddenly, Lily seemed to regain her bearings, rapidly recovering from the awkward tension, and took charge of the situation. "Okay. So you like me and I like you. It's simple. We're a couple," she told him, reaffirming herself with a satisfactory nod of her head.

David looked at her, wide eyed, as she crawled over the couch to him and pecked him on the cheek softly. And as she snuggled up to him, he decided that he liked this idea very much.

When they woke up the next morning, they were still entangled on the couch. David drove Lily home early that same morning, trying to sneak her in before her mom could wake, father already should have having left for work. She watched him pull away from the curb as she climbed the front steps leading to the her door. She opened it as quietly as she could, in the hopes the she could make it to bed without getting caught sneaking in.

She made it to the foot of the stairs before she heard her mother screech, "Lillith Katherine! Where in God's name have you been?!"

Lily sighed, and decided there was no use in lying, "I stayed over at David's last night."

Her mother made a choking noise as she rushed to the window, "What will the neighbors think?" she whimpered as she observed the houses surrounding theirs to see if anybody had seen Lily return. "My harlot teenage daughter coming and going at all hours of the night."

"I am not a harlot!" Lily refuted angrily. "So I like one boy! One! That does not make me a slut!"

"You are a sinner in the eyes of the Lord!" her mother seethed. Lily and her mother had never exactly seen eye to eye, mostly because, well, Lily thought her mom was batshit crazy.

"Angela, go back to bed," her father said, coming into view in his business suit. "I'll take care of this."

Her mother's chest puffed out, satisfied that Lily would receive a punishment that she, herself, could not doll out without it being returned. Her mother climbed the stairs, her father holding Lily in his gaze until he heard their bedroom door shut. When he heard that small 'click', he moved. He shut the shades and blinds furiously, and yanked Lily by the arm into the kitchen, at the back of the house. He flung her across the room and she flailed, almost loosing her footing on the smooth tile floor. She turn to face him once she was steady, and snarl of disdain and defiance on her face.

"I'm not-," she started, and Lily was quickly stopped. Her father had delivered a sharp, hard slap to the side of her face. Her head flung to the side, cheek stinging and her ears ringing. She paused, licked her lips and tasted blood. He had split her lip.

"Don't speak," her father warned, and she listened. "I don't care what you were doing tonight, I don't care who you were with. This is ending now. You are not to talk to that boy again. From now on, you are to come home straight from school. You may only leave this house with my permission," Lily looked away so her father could only see the unmarked side of her face.

"Not your mother's, mine. Look. Look at me when I speak to you!" he snarled, grabbing her face with one hand and squeezing until it became so painful that she cried out and looked at him, his finger tips digging into her reddening, throbbing skin. "You look at me when I speak to you. You will not disrespect me in my own house. Do you understand?" he took her quivering bottom lip as compliance and a sign to continue. "If I ever hear of you speaking with that boy again, I'll send you to a boarding school. Are we clear?" he asked. Lily made no move to acknowledge anything he's just said. "Are we clear?" he asked again, punctuating every word with a shake to her head.

Slowly, painfully, she nodded. He let her go and brushed off his jacket. "Good. Now go to bed. I'm late for work." And he left.

Lily sank to her knees on the kitchen floor and wrapped her arms around herself. She hated that she couldn't fight back. When her mother had laid a hand on her, she could return it. There was no way in hell she was going to let herself be abused by a woman she could easily overpower. But she couldn't do anything when it was her father. He was simply too big for her to defend herself. Lily hated to admit that she had been broken. There was nothing she could do. And even worse was that she couldn't tell anybody. Who would believe her beside David and his friends? And who would believe them?

Her parents had an outstanding reputation within their small community, and nobody would ever suspect them of the things they were doing. Not even David knew. He thought they still believed she was their innocent little girl when the truth was they had figured her out long ago. They still treated her like their little angel in public, even just to hold up their saint-like image, of course. But behind closed doors, they loathed even looking at her. She wanted to leave, to run away forever and make a better life for herself, but she was just on the brink of 16 and hadn't finished high school yet. Not to mention she couldn't bare the thought of leaving David behind.

Her heart sank. _David. _What was she going to tell him? She couldn't just go to him and break off their newly budding relationship, could she? If anything, the bruise she'd be sporting on her cheek will give him a clue that something was up.

Thoughts spun around in her head and she couldn't make sense of any of them, so she banished them all and made her way to her room to lay down until she had to go get ready for school. The pain in her cheek only seemed to get worse as she laid there staring up at her ceiling.

Hours passed by and she realized that she had to get up. She readied herself, covering her cheek as best she could, which didn't say much because she didn't wear make-up that often. She had no idea what she was doing with her mother's blush, the foundation, the cover-up. She realized that she looked even worse than before. She washed her face of the make-up tenderly, trying not to disturb her bruises. She wore her hair to the side in an attempt to hide it. Lily decided that this was as good as it was going to get.

She left the house with her books and her bag a bit early. Normally, David would be wait outside for her at exactly 9 o'clock, ready to drive her to school. But she wasn't supposed to talk to him anymore, especially not in front of her own house. Lily kept her head down as she walked the mile and a half to school, praying all the while that David wouldn't drive past her and see her. She walked into her homeroom and sat down, staying quiet the entire class.

Her whole day continued like this. Lily drew no attention to herself, and nobody asked about her bruises. She hated them for that.

The only class she shared with David came and she tried to stay strong as she sat in her usual seat. He came in, brows furrowed and a scowl on his face, looking for her. She kept her head ducked and looked out the window, letting her hair curtain over her cheek as she tried to ignore his undeniable presence next to her.

"Where were you this morning? I was late because I waited for you."

"Sorry," Lily mumbled. There was a pause of deafening silence between them.

"What's wrong?" he asked as other boys and girls filed into the room.

"Nothing," she mumbled again, blood rushing to her face to burn in embarrassment and pulse behind her discoloured flesh. Lily had never felt so broken in her life.

They didn't talk the rest of the period but the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. She was out of her seat and by the door when the final bell rang, and Lily wasted no time in rushing down the hall.

Eyeball, Charlie, and Billy stopped her for a quick 'hello', along with two other boys they were friends with, but with whom she was not close to. "Hey, Lily, you seen Ace?"

Lily felt bad that she brushed them off with a muttered 'hey', accompanied by a soft 'no', but she didn't want to give David the chance to catch up with her. Either she really needed to work on her speed walking, or David's determination was too great, but before she knew it, he had covered her mouth and wrapped an arm around her waist and he hauled her into an empty classroom.

Lily's eyes glistened with unshed tears at the pain his rough hands had caused to her bruise. She whimpered and David's eyebrows shot up, surprised at the sound he'd never heard come from this girl.

"Are you okay?" he asked, reached out for her. Lily quickly back up into a desk to keep his hand off her.

"Don't touch me," Lily seethed, face turned up at him. She knew it was unreasonable to be mad, after-all, he didn't know her face was tender. But her cheek was smarting again, and she needed something to blame in that moment. His eyes darkened at the site of her bruised skin.

"Who did this to you?" he asked gruffly, trapping her between his body and a desk. Lily could not run away from him now.

"Don't worry about it," she tried to convince him half heartedly.

"Who was it?" he asked again. "Was it one of the guys?" his breath hissed between clenched teeth as she shook her head 'no'. "Was it your dad?" Her silence was every reassurance he needed. His nostrils flared and his eyes burned. "I'll kill him." He started for the door, but Lily caught his arm.

"Don't! David, I'm not supposed to talk to you anymore. If you do something to let him know I told you, I'll be sent away," his eyes softened, "Please, don't do anything stupid." David studied her before he sighed, giving in. Truthfully, David wanted to run her father over with his DeSoto. "We have to stay a secret for now." Lily looked into his eyes for a brief moment before closing her own and placing a small, chaste kiss over his lips that sent blood rushing to his cheeks.

A brilliant idea came to him. "When you turn 16, you'll come live with me," he told her, grinning as his arms encircled her naturally.

"I don't think my dad-," she started.

"It won't matter what your dad will want. You'll be a legal adult," he said ingeniously.

Lily smiled back, a dazzling smile that made David weak in the knees. Not that he'd ever tell her that. "Alright, in a few months when I'm 16, I'll come live with you." She had to admit that it sounded kind of ridiculous, but the thought of getting away from her parents excited her to no end. Their sophmore year was coming to an end. She just had to survive the summer months with her parents and at the beginning of her junior year, she would turn 16 and she could leave.

"I'll talk to my mom tonight," he told her, holding her close and resting his chin on her head.

They stood together as long as they could, but all too soon, Lily pulled away. "I'm supposed to go home straight after school," she told him.

"Do you need a ri-," he started out of habit, and then stopped himself.

"I'm not supposed to see you anymore," she reminded him.

"...right," he agreed, and sighed. Lily took in his sad eyes and smiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her for a kiss, his stubble prickling her skin.

Her hot lips landed on his and it seemed that he couldn't move. He stood stock still, trying to work through his mind on what to do. She pulled away before he could figure it out.

"You know, every time I kiss you, you just stand there," she joked, "kind of makes me think you don't want to kiss me."

He was still spluttering his answer when she left. He recovered from his shock and left the classroom, searching for his gang. He found them standing by his car.

"Hey! Ace!" Eyeball called excitedly. Charlie and Billy nodded their heads at him in greeting.

"Hey, man," he said back, climbing into the convertible without hesitation. The three boys hastily climbed in after him.

"You see Lily today? Somethin' was up wit' that girl," Eyeball told him as he grabbed the cigarette stuck behind his ear and lit it up.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said, pulling out of the school's parking lot, "Her folks are going psycho."

"Yeah, mine too! Ma was throwin' a conniption fit the other night, so I says, I says, 'hey, listen here, woman-'," Eyeball proceeded to tell his tall tale. David rolled his eyes and tuned him out easily.

They spent a few hours at Mickey's Bar, but soon they left. David and Eyeball walking out the front door of the bar, leaving the other two boys behind. As they turned onto the sidewalk, they ran into Gordie Lachance and Eyeball's kid brother, Chris.

David decided he needed something to keep his mind off of Lily and her trouble with her parents. He had been thinking about it all day, and it was driving him crazy. He wanted to take it out on someone.

"Hey, girls, where ya' goin'?" Eyeball asked, pulling on one side of his jean jacket.

The outrage on Gordie's face as David lifted the baseball cap from his head was priceless.

"Hey, c'mon, man, my brother gave me that!" he spoke up. As Gordie reached out to grab it back, David waved it around in the air, never letting it sit long enough for the kid to grab ahold of it.

"Now you're giving it to me," David explained, cigarette bobbing between his lips.

"Give it to me!" Gordie yelled, flailing to get the hat back. "Come on, man, that's mine!"

David pushed him away with one hand, and Gordie fell back into place quietly beside Chris.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?" Chris told him somberly. A small silence fell between them as David took in the site of him.

"Oooh," David said, accepting Chris's challenging glare. He tossed the hat to Eyeball, and flicked his cigarette to the ground. "Your brothers not very polite, Eyeball."

David ambled his away to the smallest Chambers brother as the eldest one spoke. "Now, Christopher, I know you didn't mean to insult my friend."

David cocked his head slightly and spoke with a wicked smile, "I know you didn't mean to insult me," the smile was wiped from his face. "That's why I'm going to give him the opportunity of taking it back," his voice dropped darkly as he finished.

When Chris didn't speak, David grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and forced him to the ground painfully.

"Oh, shit!" Chris's voice was almost pleading now.

"Take it back!" David ordered, holding him to the ground.

"Come on man, stop it, you're hurting him!" Gordie stepped in, thinking his protests would make the situation better.

"You bastard! Let go, man!" Chris pleaded as David clumsily grasped his previously discarded cigarette next to the boy's head. "Shit!"

"Take it back, kid," David warned, holding the glowing tip of the burning cigarette dangerously close to the boy's face. "Take it back."

Gordie's protests grew louder, "Stop it, man! Cut it out!" Eyeball stood beside the kid, smirking at David's antics.

"You filthy-," Chris started, but David let the burning embers get closer to his face, "Okay! Okay, I take it back!"

A satisfied smile grew on David's face as he flicked the cigarette away again, and sat up. He grabbed Chris by the arms and pulled him to his feet.

He looked the kids straight in the face. "There, now I feel a whole lot better about this," the boys looked at him, hearts rapidly beating like scared rabbits, "How about you?"

They didn't say a word, and David smiled again. "Good." He patted Gordie's cheek heavily, and walked away.

"See you later, girls," Eyeball added before he followed suit, jacket still hanging from one shoulder.

And it did make David feel a bit better.

* * *

**Hello, guys! Third chapter is up. Fourth should also be up soon, as should the next chapter in Alone in the Dark, for those of you who read it.**

**Again, this is a reminder that this story will probably not be more than 10 chapters (if that) because it's just a prelude to another story.**

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and please review!**


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